Andrea Hykade's impressive kids series, Tom, has been winning acclaim and awards for years. So why hasn't Tom been picked up in North America?
I just saw a release from Studio Film Bilder announcing that their show, Tom, scored a prize at the 2013 Annecy Animation Festival. The show has been around for years and we've shown it in Ottawa a few times. It's a clever, highly imaginative series for kids about a young man's daily journey to find three simple pleasures: jam, bread, honey. Inspired by Roslyn Schwartz's clever series of books, The Mole Sisters, Tom serves up stories about friendship, nature, and existence, all told with the simplicity and grace of an old blues song.
Given the dearth of quality animation for kids in North American, I can't quite understand why this magical show that would undoubtedly capture the imaginations of Canadian and U.S. kids, hasn't been picked up by any broadcasters.
Maybe they just can't hear it through the throbbing gristle that defines North American "kids" shows today.
This episode and plenty more can be seen on YouTube.
A well-known figure in the world of independent animation, writer, author & curator Chris Robinson is the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
